Parks & Playgrounds (part 1)
As a mom of two toddlers living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, finding low-cost activities has become imperative to our survival. Free parks and playgrounds are obviously high on the list of return for the investment, so I’ve set out to discover the best ones Dubai has to offer. Unlike Munich which has an abundance of green spaces and wonderfully-constructed playgrounds around every corner you turn, Dubai is moreso characterized by pavement and sand with awkwardly placed play “structures” that often leave me scratching my head wondering, how are my children supposed to interact with this?
I’ve mentioned previously that Dubai likes to hide many of its gems, and playgrounds are no exception to the rule. They simply require a little extra researching and exploring to uncover. I will share three that we have tried out and really enjoy along with some pics to give you a feel.
Marina Promenade Playgrounds
There are fenced-in playgrounds under each end of every bridge going over the Dubai Marina Promenade and I give them an A+ for several reasons. To name a few: they are shaded and breezy being situated right next to the water, they are fenced in so my children can’t make a run for it while I’m chatting up the other moms, there are benches for the moms to rest our weary stroller-pushing legs, and they have playground equipment suitable for little and big toddlers. They both especially love the horsey merry-go-round. But I haven’t even gotten to the best part... it is located ON the Dubai Marina!!! After the girls run out of gas on the playground, they gladly sit in the stroller for a ride along the water where their eyes can feast upon the sky scrapers above or the yachts passing by. It’s really spectacular after dark with nearly everything lit up in twinkling lights. And when I’m not up for the small-hotel-kitchen cooking challenge, there just happens to be a food court in the mall with a little-known outdoor terrace that might have one of the best free views on the Promenade. There is no shortage of good vibes in this area which is why this playground is on our repeat list.
Below: Food court terrace (girls enjoying chicken tenders,) view from the railing, and strolling after dark.
Al Barsha Pond Park
We ended up at Al Barsha Pond Park with one of the playgroups we've started attending. It's a pretty large park with a man-made lake-pond-thing in the middle. The pond didn't do very much for me since it was completely fenced in except for the front entrance where you can apparently rent paddle boats. What good is water if the kids can't wade in and splash around? Ignoring the concrete pool, I would have to rate the park pretty highly because of its several (at least three) large shaded playgrounds. We bounced around between playgrounds making sure to balance on every beam and wheeee down every slide. Didn't capture any pictures aside from this one below, but it gives you and idea of the size of the park and set-up of the playgrounds. Adding to the higher rating of this park is that there are actually (real) grassy areas where we were able to spread our Monkey Mat and enjoy a picnic!
Safa 2 Park 1
Have to admit I am pretty proud of finding this sleepy yet totally awesome park which seems to be a best-kept secret amongst the moms in this villa-mansion-on-every-corner neighborhood. First thing to capture my attention was the abundance and variety of large trees which negated the need for those large shade contraptions they have at most parks. I felt like I was in a desert forest, if there's even such a thing. Definitely will be coming back here if not for that reason alone.
There were three large playgrounds in giant sandy pits with swings for small and big kids. The girls again loved trying out each and every new thing each playground had to offer. We also brought our new bubble machine and spent much of our time chasing and popping bubbles (which you may be able to spot in the second picture below.) Notice there are no kids in these pictures other than Ella and Adalyn? We saw about three other children there the entire time we played which is good in that we have the whole place to ourselves, but bad in that the girls really enjoy interacting with others.
The park has nice bathrooms and also a snack bar with all kinds of junk food. We instead brought a picnic lunch which we enjoyed under a nice shady tree... until the birds discovered we had food. They all flew over and camped out in the branches just above us which gave way to Adalyn's first bird poop experience (see pic below.) Adalyn proceeded to remove the bird poop with her fingers while I was busy capturing the moment, but the risk was totally worth the photo. Thank goodness for wet wipes and hand sanitizer!
